Rush
by darkrose01
Summary: He is not hers. She is not his. But the rush that they feel around each other launches them into a web of deceit and lies. What happens when the darkness that once harbored their secret becomes the darkness that threatens to destroy everything that they love and everything that they are?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know, I know. I should be finishing up my other storied but honestly I just got too excited about the prospect of writing something new! I just finished up a game called Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, and I was like bawling at the end. It's a shame really. But any song I hear that resonates with me, I try to write about it! There were five songs from that game that really hit home and they are oddly similar, so I decided to write stories that are similar based on the lyrics. This is the first songfic story I'm going to post but I hope to post the first chapters of all my other stories by the end of the night and also post new chapters from my previous stories as well! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the song Rush by Ingvild Hasund, or the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

P.S. This story takes place at the end of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Series, when Zuko announces that he is the new Fire Lord and he starts working with Aang to rebuild the other three nations

**Chapter 1: As Invisible As The Wind**

_Guess I'm just a gust of wind_

_Moved on quickly_

_Almost unnoticed_

_But quite powerful_

Zuko smiled at the crowd and looked at the young Avatar beside him. Aang had really grown up since he had first met him.

He stood taller, prouder, his shoulders broad and back straight and he smiled that large grin and bowed respectfully to the crowd who had just bowed to him.

He was the Avatar, if there was anyone who should not have to bow it should be him.

Taking note of the Avatar's humility, the golden eyed young man beside him bowed to the crowd as well.

When the two men stood erect again, the crowd rose and began screaming and clapping loudly. Zuko basked in the praise. For once, he felt as if he had done something right. He did not care for the fame or adoration, he simply was happy that for once in his life, he had done the right thing for other people and even himself.

He wasn't trying to please his father anymore, or live up to his sister. He was just Zuko and he was so happy for that.

Finally, Zuko and Aang stepped back inside from the balcony and into the royal planning room. They pulled the heavy and thick bamboo curtain closed, signifying the end of the royal announcement, and the sunlight instantly vanished.

Zuko, still shocked by the day's events, stood still. He was still able to hear the roar of the crowd even though the announcement was deemed over already. He was going to make the World a better place, he and Aang were going to unite the nations, and there would finally be peace.

"Zuko... thank you." Aang suddenly said. Zuko jumped as he was snapped out of his moment by the Avatar's voice, and he turned to look at him.

Aang's gray eyes were wide with sincerity and Zuko felt his own golden eyes soften. The kid was an open book.

"No, I'm the one that should be thanking you, Aang." Zuko said and he bowed his head to the younger man.

Aang bowed his head as well but Zuko did not notice and went to stand up straight after a moment of silence, only to slam his head into the airbender's.

Both men yelled out in pain and rubbed their sore heads, but instantly began laughing as the looked at the other after realizing what had happened.

Zuko rubbed his throbbing skull, but the pain was really nothing after that lightning bolt to the chest he took for-

Zuko felt his stomach twist into knots as he thought about her.

That woman could cast a spell on anyone.

He loved her long thick chocolate brown hair, those baby blue eyes, those dark curly eyelashes, that husky voice, her voluptious body, but that wasn't what he loved the most about her.

He loved the way she spoke her mind. How if she had an opinion, she sure as hell was going to voice it. He loved how stubborn she was, even if she was frustrating the hell out of him. He loved that she was independent, that she was a strong woman, and could and had already taken him down if he crossed her the wrong way.

Hell. He loved her. All of her.

He was going to tell her all of that too... today... if he would be able to get the words out. She could be scary as fuck sometimes.

…...

Katara rounded the corner, her cheeks flushed, and her long, lean, and tan legs pumping as she ran to her destination.

She, Sokka, Toph, and even Momo had watched Aang and Zuko make their announcement from within the crowd.

The crowd knew of what they had done, gossip travelled fast, so they had gotten to be in the very front. The crowd praised, bowed, and cheered for them, and then they escelated that appreciation and awe by 100,000,000 when Zuko and Aang stepped out onto the balcony.

Katara never cried and yet Katara watched them with shining eyes, surprised that all of the stress and pain and heartache and death under Lord Ozai's rule was finally over, and even more surprised that it made her bawl the way that it did.

All the stress was over... well almost over.

Katara had one thing that she needed to get done first before she could truly be stress free.

It involved a certain golden eyed young man. It wasn't until she was looking up at him that she fully realized what she felt.

She had to tell him before it was too late.

As she continued to run, Katara felt nothing but adrenaline.

Finally! She could see the door to the royal planning room. They had just finished giving their speech on the balcony that extended from that room and she hoped that he was still in there.

Suddenly the door opened and Katara stopped in her tracks and slid to a halt. If he saw her running he would assume she was desperate and Katara was NOT the type of girl to be desperate.

The two men walked out of the room and in the opposite direction. Neither saw or noticed Katara and walked with their backs to her.

Just as Katara opened her mouth to call out them them and capture their attention, a young woman with silky black hair walked up behind them.

Katara felt her heart drop to her stomach and a lump swelled up in her throat.

It couldn't be... She was in jail... Or supposed to be... No... It couldn't be...

Mai.

…...

Zuko grumbled in frustration as he walked next to the Avatar, and for once it was not frustration at the Avatar's animated and loud conversation.

Zuko was simply frustrated because he could not get that damn crown out of his top knot. What did the servants pin this thing down with? Boar bear needles?

"You need some help with that?" A deadpan voice questioned from behind him.

Zuko and Aang whirled around, Zuko with a tight grin on his face. He sincerely hoped that she wasn't about to butcher him.

He was expecting that signature grim frown on her face but instead, Zuko was surprised to see a smile on her face.

"Mai, you're okay!" Zuko exclaimed as he wrapped the tall and thin woman into his large, muscular arms. "They let you out of prinson?" He questioned as he pulled back to look down at her.

Mai shrugged and smirked. "My uncle pulled some strings. And it doesn't hurt when the new Fire Lord's your boyfriend."

Zuko felt his blood run cold at the mention of him being her boyfriend. He had broken up with her... and now she assumed that they were back together? But he did not know how to... phrase his concern graceully. He loved Mai, of course, she was his childhood love but he was in love with Katara. Hopelessly. But who knew if Katara was even interested.

"KATARA!" Aang cried out suddenly and he skipped down the hallway to the short distance where Katara was standing.

Zuko looked over Mai's head and saw Aang with his toned arms around the waterbender's slim waist. She was smiling and her cheeks were flushed, and Aang was laughing and smiling at her like she was the only person in the room, no the entire world. She looked ecstatic... and who was he to ruin that?

Zuko realized that he had been silent too long, and Mai was giving him a quizzical look. Zuko had a dedicated woman in front of him and he did love her. He repressed a sigh.

"So, does this mean that you don't hate me anymore?" He asked and she smiled at him, the sight still catching him off guard.

"I think it means I actually kind of like you." She responded, her voice indifferent.

Before he could respond, she was wrapping her arms around his neck and stretching her body upwards.

Before he could stop her, Mai's thin lips were on his, and Zuko's eyes unconciously driffted not towards the lovely woman kissing him, but to locate the waterbender.

There she was. Looking back at him as she walked down the hall and away from him, Aang's arm linked through hers.

Katara's surprised and sad eyes cut him right to the bone.

And he didn't know what her expression meant or what to do about it, so he instead focused on the woman in front of him, his girlfriend.

"But don't you EVER break up with me again!" Mai instructed, poking a bony finger painfully into his chest.

Zuko grimaced and chukcled, purely for Mai's sake. And when she kissed him again, he accepted it as just what had to happen.

…...

Katara blinked back the tears as she allowed herself to be led away by Aang.

Mai was back, and Katara felt like an idiot.

She had simply imagined the chemisty between Zuko and herself. Zuko belonged with Mai, and she with Aang. It was obvious.

Katara knew that, and yet she felt so empty inside.

When she looked at Aang she felt affection, but it was more maternal than anything else, but why hurt him? Why would she tell him that she did not love him when he so obviously loved her and would provide for her and be there for her always?

She didn't even know how Zuko felt about her. And he had Mai. How could she compete with that?

Most people would call staying with Aang settling, but he was the Avatar, there was no way she was settling.

Was she?

…...

_Late that night..._

Katara was lying on her guest bed in the Fire Nation palace, her long tresses splayed out on her plush pillow. She could not sleep, and she blamed the fact that she could not sleep because she could not stop thinking about Zuko.

She couldn't stop thinking about his hands crawling all over Mai. His fingers tracing her spine and his lips whispering the same sweet words that he had whispered to her when they were out looking to find her mother's killer and to also stop Azula.

Her eyes welled up with hot tears. Katara was so torn, and watching him kiss Mai, felt like a knife to the back.

Suddenly there was a light tapping on her door.

"Who's there?" Katara choked out.

"Katara... it's me." A voice replied softly and from the gruffness of it, Katara instantly knew who it was.

"Come in." She said so quietly her caller had to strain to hear it.

He strolled through her door, looking every bit the Fire Lord that he now was. Regal and untouchable.

As she sat up straight against the pillows and tried to subtly wipe her eyes in the darkness, the candles on the table beside her betrayed her and Zuko could see the tear stains on her tan skin.

"It's dusty in here." Katara stated as a way of explanation when she saw him starring.

He nodded solemnly and the air suddenly felt very suffocating.

"I am sorry for earlier." Zuko grinded out through his teeth. He didn't know what to say, he had no idea on how to bring up the subject now. He felt too late, and he knew deep down that he had hurt her.

Katara gave him a glance of confusion and he felt the need to reiterate his sentence.

"For kissing Mai in front of you... After what happened between us on the trip I should have-" Zuko started to speak but Katara interrupted him.

"It was my mistake for misreading your actions and thinking that you wanted something more with me. I know now that I was just a passing thought for you... an option. I was always there, but not to you, not like that. I was invisible. Like the wind." Katara stated, pain etched onto all of her features.

She looked at Zuko and saw that his cat like eyes burned with something she couldn't place.

Zuko wanted to correct her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to feel her skin again, but doing any of those things would just make this worse then it already was.

He sighed and gulped down his feelings and began to speak again.

"Anyways, on behalf of the Fire Nation, I would like to offer you a position as the Nation's healer." Zuko stated plainly, in a deadpan tone. Mai's simple prescence had already affected the way he treated her.

"I'll think about it." Katara whispered before lying down in the bed, her back turned to him.

"It's not an option, Katara. As order of the Fire Lord, you need to stay here and help. A lot of people, innocent people, were injured in the battles and just plain violence during those last few days. We need you." Zuko said, he barely stopped himself from adding, 'I need you."

"Well well, first day on the job and you're already tossing out orders like your father!" Katara exclaimed as she jumped out of the bed and charged towards the large man in front of her.

Zuko tried not to notice the way her thin white under bindings hung to every curve and crevice of her skin as she bounded over to him.

"I am not like my father, Katara, you know that as well as I do." Zuko whispered, looking down at her.

"You're not mad about me asking you to say. We both know what you're really mad about." He said simply, a sweet smile on his face.

A smile just for Katara.

He saw the pain in her eyes and before he could stop himself, he wrapped her petite form into his muscular chest.

"I'm so sorry." He murmured against her hair.

He knew that as soon as he touched her he wouldn't be able to contain himself, and his hands secured themselves around her waist and he looked down at her and lifted his chin with her finger.

"Stop. It's too late." Katara whispered pathetically, not wanting him to stop at all.

Zuko's lips inched closer, and Katara knew any protests were futile.

"I don't know what to do... But I do know that you-"

"Zuko?" A sudden voice asked from the doorway.

Katara and Zuko jumped apart, but not quick enough.

A/N: ***yawn* **that was boring I know! It will get better though, I promise. This was the first chapter and the set up chapter! More drama is soon to come!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Alright! Let some drama begin! I'm trying to do something a little different than my usual stories here so here we go! Woo!

**Chapter 2: Kill For Love**

"_Our rush__  
__Could easily have blown__  
__Your defenses down__  
__Could easily have blown__  
__Your defenses down"_

"What's going on?" The voice from the doorway repeated, and Katara and Zuko both turned to look upon the intruder.

Toph stood there, her glazed over gray eyes somehow piercing, and her arms folded over her chest.

Katara noticed Zuko's shoulders lower and she knew that he was relieved, but Katara was not. Toph was her best friend and even though Toph could not physically see, she somehow had a way to be able to know and understand everything.

"I just came by to offer Katara a permanent position here." Zuko said smoothly. Technically he was not lying, but both Katara and Zuko knew that he had come to see her for more than that.

Toph's nose wrinkled, and Katara knew that look well.

Toph didn't believe him.

And she was calling bullshit.

The silence in the room became thick and uncomfortable. Katara shifted from foot to foot, waiting for Toph's response. When Toph did not give one, Katara felt frustration bubble in her veins.

She just wanted to forget that this day had ever happened and to do that she had to sleep.

"I accepted the job too, so I will be staying here... with... Aang and helping out as much as I can." Katara stated quickly.

At her words, Zuko turned to face her. Why had she put emphasis on the fact that she would be staying with Aang?

Confused, Zuko bit back a sigh and simply nodded at Katara. The message was clear. She was going to stay with Aang.

She was right, it was too late.

"Seeing as that's all I had to say, goodnight ladies." Zuko said as a way of excusing himself, and he edged past Toph and exited the room and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

Katara then turned her full attention to her best friend.

"So, why did you come to see me, Toph?" She questioned and Toph snorted.

"Why so edgy, sugar queen?" She asked and when Katara huffed in response, Toph's eyebrows drew together in subconscious concern.

"I heard loud voices and I-" Toph started to explain but Katara interrupted her.

"We weren't even speaking that loudly." Katara added hastily and Toph rolled her non seeing eyes.

"In case you forgot, I''m BLIND! So all of my other senses are heightened, ad I'm also very good at detecting body heat remember?" Toph reminded, pointing to her gray eyes.

When Katara did not rebuke these claims, Toph continued speaking.

"When I walked in, I smelled the smell of wood and fire, and I know that that's how Zuko smelled, but then again we are in the Fire Nation so that's how a lot of people here smell, and that's why I was hesitant." Top explained, shrugging her slim shoulders.

"I''m sorry for being short with you, Toph. It's been a long day." Katara confessed.

"It has been, sugar queen, it sure has." Top agreed, still using the nickname that she had given Katara forever ago.

"I'm going to go back to bed." Katara not so subtly said and Toph chuckled at her boldness. She knew that Katara was ready to have her out of there so that she could climb back into bed.

Toph turned to leave, but just as she was about to shut the door behind her, she turned back to look at her best friend.

"I'm smarter than people think, you know? I may not to be able to see, but I can still sense things, and I know things automatically that most people have to be told... but that doesn't mean that I like being lied to or kept in the dark." Toph stated, turning her sightless eves to the Alaskan woman that was now lying on her back in her large and plush bed, her blue eyes trained on the ceiling above.

Katara knew instantly what Toph was insinuating. She felt her heart shatter as she remembered Zuko's lips on Mai's, how he looked at Katara as he was kissing Mai if Katara was nothing, and Katara remembered what happened between them when they went to find her mother's killer. She remembered it all and she wanted nothing more than to be able to forget it.

"I would never keep you in the dark, Toph." Katara lied, silent tears running down her cheeks. Toph said goodnight and left, and Katara had never felt more alone in her entire life.

She missed traveling with the Gaang. The Gaang that all slept around the fire together and fought towards a righteous goal. She missed Zuko... but most of all she missed her mother.

Her mother would have known what to do.

Katara drew in a shaky breath.

As much as she wished it wasn't so, her mother was gone, and Katara had no idea what to do next.

…...

Zuko awoke early the next morning feeling numb inside.

He had a ton of things to do that day however, so he rose from his bed quickly and set off to do what he had to do.

As he cleaned himself and dressed, all that he was thinking about was Katara. Why had he let her say those cruel things about herself last night? She was never an option to him, she wasn't just some small thought on his mind, she was Katara.

And she made him alive.

She made his blood boil, she made his heart hammer, she made him fall head first in love with her.

Yet, he was too scared to ever tell her that.

Zuko pulled on his royal robes and crown and exited his bedroom, only to run right into someone standing in front of his door.

"Sorry." The now Fire Lord mumbled under his breath and he moved to walk around the person that had blocked his exit.

"Zuko. Really? It's me." Mai deadpanned and Zuko blinked his eyes.

It was Mai. He had been so engrossed in thought of the water bender that he had not even seen her.

"Are you feeling alright?" Mai asked, concern lacing her voice and Zuko smiled at her gently, trying to reassure her... and trying to reassure himself.

"Yes, I am. Just overwhelmed by what's been going on. I just defeated my sister, took a lightning bolt to the chest, Aang overthrew my father, and I became Fire Lord yesterday. It's just... a lot to take in." Zuko explained to his girlfriend and she nodded in understanding.

"Well the meeting you have right now is an early meeting so if you can sleep with your eyes open, you can just do that the whole time instead of listening." Mai quipped.

Zuko laughed. "You sound like Azula" He chided, and when he looked at Mai's face, he saw an expression of pain that he had not expected to see there.

Before he could question her, she looked up at him, her face blank. "I'll see you after your meeting." She said quickly and she turned and walked away from him.

His golden eyes flickered with unanswered questions.

…...

Zuko sat down at the head of the table, and as he sat, everyone at the table stood and bowed to him.

It was then that he saw her.

Katara was in the meeting, but why?

As everyone sat down, all eyes turned to Zuko, and he realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing.

He gulped down the lump forming in his throat and hoped that he wasn't blushing as all of the advisers in the room starred at each other and then back at him.

Zuko's yellow eyes flickered to Katara's and she starred coldly back at him, and that was all it took to snap him back into focus.

This wasn't about him or his feelings. All of the nations depended on him and what he was going to do. He owed it to everyone to do the right thing.

It was time to start behaving like a Fire Lord.

"The first thing that needs to be done is a conference between all of the leaders of the nations. We need to all meet and discuss peace treaties and resolve border disputes so that we can all be one united nation, and end the senseless fighting." Zuko said, and the Fire Nation advisers instantly began writing and smiling in agreement, except for one.

"Fire Lord, you do realize that by doing this, you are putting yourself at risk. There will be many people of the Fire Nation who will try to rebel and take you down. They want to be separate, they do not want to be united." The adviser warned, his dark eyes stern.

"Are you one of them Advisor?" Zuko inquired, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

The adviser starred at him nervously and pointedly avoided the question.

"I just think the rebels will be fine siding with the other two nations except for the water tribes. So, maybe if the fire nation united with all of the other nations excluding the water tribes, the rebels would not try to attack." The adviser commented, and Zuko instantly knew that he had said the wrong thing when he looked at the only member of the water tribes in the room.

"So, you're saying that all of the nations should come together except for the water tribes because the fire nation dislikes them? The nations are not being brought together if one is left out and attacked by the three others!" Katara exclaimed, slamming her fist down onto the table.

"Miss Katara, you were only added to this meeting this morning because you are of the water tribe and also master healer of the fire nation. You must think rationally. Including the water tribes would only make the nations not want to be one, so there would be no point including them if they are going to be targeted anyway and also cause unrest." The adviser argued, and Zuko could have sworn that steam flew out of Katara's ears.

"If every single one of the four nations are equal and united, there would be no need for a Fire Lord or us as advisers. Everything would be changed and lives would be ruined." The adviser continues angrily as he rose to his feet.

There was a long moment of silence before Katara spoke again.

"You are not concerned with unity at all. You just want to make sure the lowly water tribe peasants stay 'peasants' and don't threaten your high social standing. War wrecked havoc across this land and destroyed so many innocent lives, but you're not afraid of that, no. You're afraid of _being _equal and united with everyone because then you feel like you won't be special! Well you aren't special! You are a pompous-" Katara stood to her feet, calmly, intent on continuing her lecture, when suddenly the adviser growled and shot fire out of his palms and directly at Katara.

Katara was extremely thankful that she walked into the meeting with her water pouch on her side (old habits died hard) and she whipped an ice wall up as quickly as she could, but she was not expecting the attack and her defense was not quick enough.

The flames pierced through the ice wall before it could solidify and Katara screamed as the flames scorched her skin and the force of the flames and the crumbling ice sent her falling backwards, her head connecting with the hard floor.

The adviser readied himself for another attack.

Zuko did not even remember standing, he did not even remember raising his hands, but out of nowhere, lightning shot out of his hand and into the adviser's wide frame.

As the man convulsed and sunk to the ground, he walked over to Katara and scooped her up into his large arms.

"If anyone feels the need to ever attack this woman because she is different, or anyone else just because they are different, they will meet with the same fate as that unfortunate adviser. The nations shall all become one. We shall all become a family. I will not let violence run wild. Meeting adjourned!" He yelled and the rest of the advisers scrambled away in fear and servants walked in to clean up the mess.

Yet Zuko was only focused on the unconscious woman in his arms.

Zuko ran out of the room, careful not to jostle his precious cargo. He saw Mai standing in the hallway, a shocked look coming over her face before she masked it with an expression of boredom.

"I know she's the master healer, but is there another healer in the building? Or anyone that can help her? Once she wakes up, she can heal herself, but until then she needs to live!" Zuko commanded.

Mai nodded and went to fetch a healer.

A servant moved to take Katara from Zuko's arms, but he snarled animalistically at him, the skin around his scar twitched and that made him even more frightening.

The servant scrambled away without a sound.

Suddenly Aang and Sokka appeared, apparently hearing the commotion.

When Aang saw Katara lying still in Zuko's arms, his face crumbled and he broke off in a sprint towards the duo.

Katara's brother, Sokka, was right beside him.

"KATARA!" They cried out as they neared them.

Zuko quickly explained what happened and just then Mai returned, obviously flushed from hurrying.

"Follow me!" She ordered, her voice still somehow retaining its monotone. Zuko had forgotten how much she hated showing emotion.

Aang went to take Katara from Zuko's arms.

"I got her. This was my fault, I'll take her." Zuko confessed, but Aang shook his head.

Zuko tried to ignore the pointed glance from Mai. He knew that she was wondering why he suddenly cared so much about the woman that he had chased and even tied to a tree once.

Zuko did not plan on ever telling her.

"She's my girlfriend, Zuko!" Aang retorted.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! THIS IS KATARA'S LIFE AT RISK HERE! SAVE YOUR PISSING MATCH FOR LATER!" Sokka exclaimed before lifting Katara up from Zuko's arms and following behind Mai at a dead sprint.

Aang looked at Zuko, all traces of the friendly young man from the day before gone.

"If she doesn't recover from what happened in there, Zuko, I will never forgive you." He said and Zuko shook his head.

"And I will never forgive myself. Before we left to find her mother's killer and fight Azula, I promised Sokka that I would keep her safe... and I failed." Zuko admitted.

He looked over and found Aang scowling at him and it was then that Zuko realized that he was not the only one that would kill for Katara.

Aang would too.

…...

Katara blinked her ocean blue eyes open. The world around her was blurry and incoherent for a moment until she felt the pain on her body.

Gasping, she looked down to see burns all over her hands, arms, and legs. When she lifted the blanket up, she saw charred skin all over her stomach. Katara could tell that someone had treated her wounds, but not as well as she could treat herself.

Katara's baby blues searched for water beside the stiff bed that she was lying in and was surprised to turn and see that someone else was already holding out a bowl of water towards her.

She looked up into his face and tried to smile in thanks.

She placed her hands in the water and her hands began to glow such a bright blue that it almost appeared white, and she placed her hands on her burns.

It was a slow process but she finally healed her entire body, and she sighed in exhaustion and flopped back onto her stiff pillows

"We have got to stop meeting like this." Katara joked, referring to the numerous times that she and the man beside her bed had encountered each other when one, the other, or maybe even both of them were injured.

Zuko tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes or the corners of his mouth.

"What happened after... I... you know?" Katara questioned, and she saw Zuko flinch in response.

"I killed that man, Katara." Zuko said, lowering his head and inhaling deeply.

"I didn't mean to do it, I didn't even think about doing it... it just happened. I heard you scream and I saw you lying there and the next thing I know I'm hitting that man with lightning and telling everyone that if anyone committed an act of violence against anyone else just because they were different then they would meet with the same fate." Zuko said, placing his hands over his face.

Katara tiredly reached out and grasped his firm hand with her small yet coarse ones (Bending was hard on the hands). "I think you may have to release an announcement to elaborate on what you meant. What if someone from the fire nation kills someone else from the fire nation? They aren't killing because of differences, they're killing just because or for other reasons. Maybe justifiable reasons." Katara reminded, squeezing Zuko's hand.

Zuko didn't squeeze back. "But how could I say that punishment is in order when I'm no better? I killed a man in cold blood. I took away someone's son, someone's father, someone's husband. I've been feeling like I finally beat Azula and my father, but I guess that I really am more similar to them than I thought." Zuko whispered.

Katara shook her head. "You saved my life. That man did not like what I was saying. I was ruining his reputation, his career, and the nation he loved by persisting that all of the nations be united. No one would have jumped in to save me... you saved my life, Zuko. I know that you weren't really yourself when you killed him. But I'm no better than you either, Zuko. I've killed enemy soldiers and I even tried to kill the man who killed my mother. You saved me from doing that and becoming a monster, and you saved my life today." Katara smiled at him as she finished her rant.

Zuko looked up at her. He looked at her lips as the perfect and calming words formed and were delivered. He saw the way her blue eyes shined with tears as she recalled the man who had taken her mother from her. He saw her, and he loved her.

Before he could control himself, he stood up and leaned over her. Bracing an arm on one side of her head and using the other to cup her soft cheek, he leaned down and captured her soft lips with his.

Without a moment of hesitation, she was responding to his kiss with desperation and need, but most of all, love.

He jerked away suddenly.

"I'm so sorry. You make me so impulsive... Aang and Sokka left to sleep. They'll be here soon. I'm sorry, Katara." Zuko scrambled for an excuse, his words choppy and rough.

He turned away from her, knocking the bowl of water to the floor as he stormed out.

Katara sighed as she watched him walk out of the door of what she guessed was the infirmary.

She was alone again.

A/N: It's only going to get worse from here folks! I know things are a little slow right now but they will improve! Love y'all! MWAH! **blows kisses**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I am on a writing binge! I have never been like this! I am a little indifferent on this story... it seems like it is not as loved as I love it or thought that it would be. I don't know. I'm sorry though if it is not good to y'all and y'all are just trying to tough it out. Thank you so much for reading!

**Chapter 3: What's Done In The Dark**

"_Did you hear me whispering hello__  
__Did you see me waving goodbye?__  
__Did you notice...__  
__that I didn't cry"_

Breakfast the next morning was, in a word, extremely uncomfortable.

Zuko sat at the head of the table, his thick obsidian hair pulled into a high top knot, and a crown sitting on the crown of his skull.

Katara poked at her dish of noodles sprinkled with flaming fire flakes. She was trying so hard to not look at him but she felt the need to have her eyes on him as if someone was trying to forcefully turn her head in his direction.

Finally, when everyone was laughing at a joke that Aang had cracked, Katara looked at him. His amber eyes were shining as he laughed and as Katara stared at him.

She missed the way that his hair fell when it was down. She missed how she would brush it out of the way with her fingers so that she could cup his cheek. She missed him. She wanted him.

As Zuko stopped laughing he happened to look in her direction and gold met blue and two hearts melted.

It was then that Toph's head swiveled in Katara's direction, and she felt her heart stop in her chest.

She must have sensed that both Zuko and Katara's body heat increased at the same time.

Damn, she was good.

Katara blinked furiously before looking down at her plate and continuing to eat the spicy Fire Nation food.

"So, when are you going to find a Fire Lady, Zuko?" Toph asked suddenly and Katara choked on a noddle as it slid down her throat.

"Katara?" Aang checked on his girlfriend, placing a gentle hand on her back.

"Spicy!" Katara lied as she took a long gulp from her water.

Aang smiled sweetly at her and took her hand in his.

Katara's eyes shot to Zuko as she waited for him to answer the question.

An adviser sitting nearby cleared his throat awkwardly.

"We were actually going to discuss this in the afternoon meeting." He admitted, a scarlet tint rising to his cheeks.

Zuko seemed shell shocked and simply whipped his head back and forth between Toph and the adviser as if he was watching a tennis match.

Mai smirked from her seat beside him, obviously enjoying his embarrassment. Katara probably would have been smiling to if it wasn't for the fact that if Zuko got married... it would all be over. For good.

He had kissed her once sure but it was a mistake. At least that's what Katara tried to tell herself as she imagined his lips on hers.

She felt her ears burn and she knew that she was on the way to a full on blush if she did not stop thinking about it.

Toph's eyes slid over to Katara again and the other girl wanted to groan.

She couldn't win.

…...

Zuko did not have a clue on what he was supposed to say to that.

After the long period of silence, the adviser spoke up.

"You do not have to answer now, it's just that the tradition is that a Fire Lord get married as quickly as possible to solidify his power and also his bloodline as heir to the throne." The adviser explained and Zuko felt his face pale.

So... he had to get married... and have a baby...soon?

He did not know what he was supposed to do.

It would take more than a little bit of time, and a lot of drama, if he and Katara were to get together.

Zuko would have to deal with the angry Avatar and an angry Mai. That meant daggers... lost of daggers. An surviving a round of aggressive air bending. When Toph found out he'd be up against earth bending and metal bending too. Ugh.

He couldn't win.

…...

Katara starred at herself in the full length mirror in her guest-well permanent until further notice bedroom.

She was wearing a long red Fire Nation halter dress that went to her ankles. There was a slit in the side that went up to her upper thigh, and the dress was tight around the waist, enunciating her hourglass frame.

Her hair was pulled back away from her face but fell loose around her shoulders like it had when she and the Gaang had infiltrated the Fire Nation.

As Katara twirled in the mirror, her bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.

"Wow... Katara..." A voice said and Katara turned around to face them.

Aang stood there scratching the back of his head. His cheeks were as red as fire flakes and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

"Too much?" She asked warily but he shook his head excitedly.

"You look wonderful." He complimented, his face turning an even deeper scarlet.

Katara smiled weakly at him, hoping that she was properly hiding the fact that it was not Aang's opinion that she cared about but another's.

It was wrong and she knew it, but she couldn't help how she felt.

"Are you excited?" Aang asked her ad Katara shrugged nervously.

"After we saw the Ember Island Players re-create our lives through the Fire Nation's eyes, I'm kind of wary of going to another one of their plays, even if it is 'positive' this time." Katara admitted as she smoothed her outfit.

"It's funny how when we saw that play, they put you and Zuko together, and said that you loved me only as brother." Aang laughed, obviously amused at how everything how turned out.

Katara felt the blood run to her head and she felt dizzy.

She turned to look at Aang in his bright gray eyes. He was still laughing and Katara wondered if he knew. If deep down he suspected.

From the grin on his face at the moment though, she doubted it.

Katara subtly released a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding in.

She smiled and laughed along with Aang.

But she didn't find anything he said to be humorous.

…...

Zuko sat in the middle of the front row of the theater. It was amazing, the perks that the Fire Lord had.

His entourage of friends, advisers, and security filled in the rows beside, in front, and behind him.

After being an outcast for so long, he felt odd suddenly being made out to be such a big deal.

As Zuko settled into his seat, he looked over to see Aang pointing to the seat open to his right.

He held his breath. He rreeeaaallllyyy didn't want Katara to sit by him. What if this play was like the one they saw when he had first joined them. Because in that play, Katara and Zuko had awkwardly glanced sideways at each other and slid away as their character embraced on stage.

If he saw a woman that even resembled Katara on stage embracing him, he would lose it.

And Mai was to his left. She would kill them both.

He was dating Mai, and she was dating Zuko. They were cheating on their respective significant others with each other.

Zuko blinked confusedly.

He was thinking way too hard, and that last sentence he had thought in his head really confused him.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose just as Katara sat down beside him, Aang on her other side.

Since Katara had been scar and pain free after the incident, Aang had come to Zuko and apologized for how he acted. He had even thanked Zuko.

Zuko knew however, that if Aang knew what he had done when he and Katara were alone, his reaction would have been completely different.

The play started by explaining some back story and then showing the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, Azula, and the ascent of Avatar Aang and Zuko.

The first scene after the back story was of Katara and Zuko battling Azula. When Azula directed lightning at Katara instead of Zuko at the last moment and Zuko leaped in front of Katara to save her life, Katara felt her eyes well up with tears. Just as they had when he did that in real life.

Zuko looked over at her, and when he saw tears running down her face, he couldn't help himself.

In the darkness of the theater... they were safe.

Under the cloak of the dim lights, Zuko reached out his hand and clasped Katara's hand in his over the arm rest.

Katara looked over at him. Zuko wanted nothing more than to be able to wipe the tears from her eyes but he knew that he couldn't. Not in public.

Things like this could only be done in the darkness.

…...

The person ran along the rooftops, their feet silent and their form nimble as they flipped from roof top to rooftop.

Their hood stayed put somehow, even though it should have flown off due to the wind and the speed that they were running.

Suddenly, the person leaped down from the roof top, grabbed their feet, and spun through the air in a bar until they reached the ground where they extended their feet and instantly began running again.

The person ran until they reached the back of the building. They walked into the back entrance of the small tea hut and into the small cluster of people gathered inside.

"Have you got the info?" One of the members asked, crossing their arms over their chest.

The person in the hood shook their head.

"Not yet, but I will soon. The Fire Lord has not revealed his plan to me but he will. And when he does, we will wait for his weakest moment and we will take over and install Azula as the true leader that she is." The person stated.

The crowd cheered and the person removed their hood from their face as everyone began milling about and talking amongst themselves.

However, they felt exposed and quickly fixed it back upon their skull.

Suddenly, a hand was on the person's shoulder.

The person whirled around and yanked their attacker's arm behind them to the point of it almost snapping.

"IT'S ME!" The attacker shouted and the hooded person sighed in relief.

"Don't sneak up on me." They warned.

The "attacker" nodded.

"Are you going to be able to go through with this? I know it can't be easy for you." The person thought to be an attacker questioned, genuinely concerned.

The hooded person nodded, although sadness decorated their eyes.

"It's what must be done. My family is at stake... and so am I." They admitted.

Before the friend that was at first thought to be a foe could respond, the hooded person was out of the door and running through the streets.

Blending into the darkness like a human shadow.

A/N: SO who is this hooded person?! I am very interested in your guesses! And do you think Katara and Zuko can refrain from having one another? Go ahead and review! Love y'all and thank you for reading! Mwah! **blows kisses**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I originally wanted this story to be very long but now I'm thinking that it may be one of my shorter ones but we'll see!

**Chapter 4: Melting Into Ice**

"_I guess I just brushed through your mind  
More gently  
Than I intended to  
Not fresh enough  
Just a breeze"_

Katara slid out of her dress, jewelry, and shoes. She turned to glance at herself in the mirror. She looked so sad. She knew it was because that she felt so empty inside.

When Zuko had secretly held her hand that night, she had felt like she could take on 500 angry fire benders all on her own, that's how fast her adrenaline was pumping.

He had looked at her and those honey colored eyes had her melting like a muddle into her seat.

Katara giggled at herself. "Melted into her seat", really? It was also ironic because she was a water bender and could melt substances that contained water. Katara sighed again. She really was feeling like such a dork.

There was a quick and quiet knock on her door. She thought that she had maybe imagined it for a moment but then it came again. Another quiet and hesitant knock.

Katara gulped, wary of who could be at her door that late. She reached and opened the door.

Then the person on the other side of the door had their hands on her skin, around her slim waist, and she was unprepared to fight them off, and she felt her mind temporarily black out from fear and surprise.

She blinked at the person who grabbed her and she was momentarily taken aback.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed at the person but they did not answer her, but simply shut the door behind them instead.

…

He needed her.

He didn't care about the consequences anymore.

Fuck self-control.

Even if it was just for a night, with all of the shit that they had gone through, they deserved to be able to have one another.

She seemed angry at him, but as he starred down at her, he knew that she was thinking along the same lines as he was.

He tightened his muscular arms around her waist and pulled her as close to him as he could.

Even through all of the layers of his clothing he could feel her body heat radiating from beneath her thin layer of bindings.

Zuko looked into Katara's cerulean eyes and he inclined his head downwards and she smiled at him before reaching up a hand to tenderly stroke the scar that misconfigured his looks.

The scene was oddly reminiscent of that time when the two of them had been imprisoned in the cave and she had tried to heal him but this time was different, and they both knew that now.

"You are very handsome, Fire Lord." Katara murmured her face still bright with that genuine smile.

"You are so beautiful, Water Master Katara." Zuko replied.

It was the truth too, her face was so beautiful, her smile so bright and loving that he lost it.

He bent down and captured her soft lips with his. He lost himself in her taste, in her moans, in her deep baby blue eyes.

He was hypnotized by her creamy dark caramel skin, by the way her husky voice whispered his name, and by the way their bodies fit perfectly together.

He lost himself in her, and she lost herself in him.

Together they performed the dance of love, moans, and sweats on top of her bed until finally they were both blinded by the pure white light of release.

"I love you, Katara." He whispered into her ear as he lie there holding her perfect and curvy body to his solid and chiseled form.

Katara rested her hands on his chest and propped her head up on said hands to look up at her lover.

"And I love you, Zuko." Katara admitted, heat rising to her cheeks.

When she looked at him like that, like she saw into his soul, he once again felt the urge to be hers and hers only.

As if reading his mind, Katara swung a toned leg on one side of him, keeping her other leg on the other side of his body, successfully straddling him.

And the two begun the dance of love all over again.

…

**2 Weeks Later…**

Zuko breathed in deeply as sweat poured down his pale skin and bare back.

He had just completed his morning training, but it took all of his strength to actually do the training and not go running back to Katara and her dark bedroom.

For fourteen magical days, that place was their safe haven. When it was dark, he disguised himself like he had done when he was the Blue Spirit, and he crept to her room to love her and express his love for her.

The darkness was his favorite. Only she and he existed in that darkness. Only love existed in that room.

Zuko smiled to himself. It never failed to improve his mood when Katara graced his thoughts.

"Fire Lord." A voice suddenly called out to him and Zuko turned to see an advisor bowed down before him.

"Yes?" Zuko questioned as he slid his shirt back over his taut skin.

"Your presence, as well as all of the Avatar, the palace workers, and advisors, is requested in the conference room." The advisor noted and Zuko nodded, trying to hide his excitement at being able to see Katara during the day.

Zuko hurried to the conference room, sweaty and all, only to find that everyone was already there and seated.

He felt the smile drain from his lips. This meeting had a different tone than the others.

Zuko sat at the head of the table and focused on observing his advisors instead of the gorgeous water bender seated a little further down the table and to his right.

"What's going on?" Zuko asked in his authorative Fire Lord tone, his gravelly voice echoing off of the walls in the conference room.

Katara felt shivers run down her spine and the way his voice rumbled. It reminded her of when he was about to-

Katara's thoughts were broken by the advisor sitting closest to Zuko finally spoke.

"I regret to inform you that you have passed the traditional date where most Fire Lords wed, Fire Lord Zuko." The advisor explained quickly, averting eye contact with the Fire Nation ruler.

"Are you going to spank me?" Zuko snarked. Katara looked his direction and instantly knew that his good mood was now in shambles.

The advisor shook his head furiously. No one wanted to go against the Fire Lord after the lightning incident.

"It's just that… to the rebels this is another way of you ruining the Fire Nation tradition and therefore, the Fire Nation's reputation. They are getting more and more upset. They want to kill you and replace you!" The advisor exclaimed.

The table went silent and Katara subtly cut her eyes to Zuko. He was seething.

Next to her, she felt Aang place a gentle hand over her own hand that lay on the table.

Katara resisted the urge to guiltily withdraw her hand.

"How do you know all about these rebels?" Zuko asked, his gold almond shaped eyes narrowing into thin criticizing slits.

"I just… hear things, my Lord. We all live outside of the palace and amongst the people. We hear the gossip." The advisor explained quickly.

"For your sake and your family's honor, I hope that you are telling the truth." Zuko warned subtly and the advisor paled.

Another advisor cleared his throat and Zuko turned to face him.

"You are dating Mai correct? Maybe… to ease things with the rebels… you can announce an engagement between the two of you?" The second advisor advised and Zuko momentarily felt the world tip around him.

Katara felt bile rise in her throat as Zuko looked upwards, crossing his arms over that broad chest that she had laid her head against so many times.

He slowly nodded his head in agreement, and Katara felt her whole world plummet to the ground.

She really had been nothing to him.

She had just been another option, another passing thought to him.

She had left no impression on him whatsoever.

As much as she had tried to force him to love her…

He did not love her.

She really was just a breeze in the wind to him.

Nothing important, something there to make you feel better on a warm day.

Katara bit her lip to prevent herself from crying.

Once the meeting was over however, Katara walked calmly out of the room, and out of the palace doors.

Her head was held high but she felt lower than the low.

…

Zuko watched her leave.

He wanted to stop her but what could he do in public, and especially around the townspeople?

They wanted him dead and if he chased after her he would be taken down before her perfect name could escape his lips.

He felt his stomach churn and he wanted nothing more than to be able to hold her in her dark room. Smell her scent, feel her skin against his, and to just be with her.

All he wanted was her.

But he couldn't have her.

What they were doing was wrong, so awfully wrong.

By marrying Mai he would hopefully make the rebels start to like him at least a little bit more, and save all of the Nation from collapsing.

But he was definitely on the losing side of the deal.

"What's this I hear about us getting married?" An inquiry made by a deadpan voice asked from behind him.

Zuko turned to address his future wife and he felt his heart sink.

He tried to remember that he was doing the right thing.

But if he was, then why did it hurt so much?

…

Katara froze her door in place with a thin wall of strong ice that night.

When Zuko came knocking, she simply closed her eyes and pretended that she was asleep.

And when he tried to open the door and begged for her to let him in, she simply squeezed her eyes closed as tightly as she could.

Yet the tears still dripped down her face until he finally gave up and walked away.

Just like she knew he would.

…

Zuko trudged up the stairs probably making more noise than he should have.

Realizing that he was jeopardizing everything he silently snuck through the hallways and back staircases of the palace until he reached his room.

Once inside he began removing pieces of his disguise until he realized that there was a candle in the room that was lit.

Zuko knew for sure that he had not lit a candle before he left. He was no idiot.

"Where were you?" A monotone voice asked and Zuko had no idea what to say to his fiancée as he turned and saw her.

"Why were you sneaking around from downstairs? The only things down there are Katara's room and the kitchen." Mai dully noted and Zuko felt his mouth go dry.

He had no idea what to do.

A/N: THANKYOUFORREADINGILOVEYALLPLEASEDONTKILLME! I'll update as soon as I get five reviews. I love ya'll. Mwah! I could never do this without you all. **Blows kisses*


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Honestly, I was going to just leave this story as incomplete and stop working on it…. But then I got a review from hikari. *Laughs* Oh my goodness! Please be my new best friend, that was hilarious, and your threat of hunting me down and feeding me in-edible cake definitely did the job. Thank you very much! Enjoy this next chapter! S**T GETS REAL!

**Chapter 5: Traitor Revealed **

"_I can make you fly  
High  
I can make you fly  
High"_

Mai starred at him expectantly and Zuko knew what he had to do.

"I went down to the kitchen to get some food. Why are you in my room anyway?" Zuko questioned his voice gruff.

Mai raised an eyebrow at him. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You've been acting… distant." Mai's eyes flickered to floor and Zuko opened his mouth to speak, shut it, and then opened it again.

"We're set to be wed soon and I feel like I know nothing about you! I don't know you anymore, Zuko. I don't even know what you're planning to do if the Four Nations get united! I'm going to be the Fire Lady and I know nothing about politics or even you!" Mai yelled, her voice actually containing emotion for once.

Zuko glared at her. "That's not your place, Mai. We both know this is for show." He growled. Mai physically recoiled from him as if he had struck her.

"You used to love me. What happened? Or should I say who happened?" Mai asked, crossing her arms over her small chest.

Zuko felt like an asshole but he noticed the way her breasts looked and how they did not compare to Katara's.

He snapped his golden eyes back up to her face before she could notice what other part of her anatomy that her fiancé's eyes had travelled to.

"I just don't feel anything with you, Mai. Don't pretend that you feel something for me!" Zuko yelled and Mai strode towards him and slapped a pale hand across his cheek.

His face instantly burned. Mai hit like a grown ass man.

He would not give her the satisfaction, and instead he curled his face into a bright smile.

"You used to tell me I made you feel like you could fly! And now you're just saying that I don't anymore?!" Mai exclaimed, pushing on his chest.

Zuko knew that if this argument escalated any further then the servants would be able to hear and then the gossip would be all over the town by tomorrow morning, and he would be royally screwed.

So, he forced himself to be the woman in the relationship, and he softened his tone. "Mai, I have changed since I used to tell you those things. I love you, yes, but in the sense that you were my first love. You have to admit that I'm not the same man that you love. When we were together and in love I was just some kid searching for honor, my father's pride, and the Avatar. Now, I'm the Fire Lord, and I'm working with the Avatar." Zuko explained, stepping forward and clasping Mai's hands in his.

He saw her face soften before it returned to neutral.

In that moment he knew that he had won.

…

Katara awoke, bathed, dressed, and walked out in complete and utter chaos the next morning.

Her tan hand reached out and grabbed a passing servant's arm.

"Excuse me, miss, what is going on?" Katara asked, noting that the woman's face was one of fear.

She had forgotten how servants felt about her being a powerful water bender, and she released the young woman from her grasp.

"There is an emergency conference, your attendance is requested." The servant stated before dashing off.

Katara felt fear flow throughout her body.

Had they found out? What was going to happen to Zuko? What would Aang do? No… what would TOPH do?!

Even though her legs felt like lead, Katara forced her body to lift them and she ran as quickly as she could into the conference room and into a seat.

Everyone in the room refused to meet her eyes.

"What happened?!" Katara asked frantically, her eyes searching the room until they landed on Zuko.

He refused to meet her eyes as well and Katara felt sick.

After what felt like hours Aang, who was seated right beside Zuko, spoke up.

"The southern water tribe is infected with a disease… it's basically a plague… Katara…" Aang spoke her name so softly that Katara felt the guilt blossom inside her heart like a bruise.

"So when do I leave?" Katara asked of the surrounding advisers.

"You do not. We need you here." One of them stated, and Katara turned to him, her blood boiling inside of her.

"I am a healer, and there is a sickness spreading through the Water Tribe. Innocent people are dying. Men, women, and children. A plague has no morals. I could figure out the cause and how to heal it properly and be back in a day or so." Katara argued, her blue eyes piercing into the adviser who challenged her.

"Or you could get the disease yourself. Then we'd be without a healer." Zuko said from the head of the table and Katara whipped around to face him.

"I am one person! There are other healers around. I can heal myself, I would be fine." Katara yelled at him, rising to her feet.

Zuko rose to his feet as well.

"Last time, if I remember correctly, you would not have even been able to heal yourself if I had not taken you to safety." Zuko reminded through gritted teeth.

"That was different! I was attacked by one of YOUR trusted advisers. A plague is different. Why are we even arguing about this?! I could be out saving lives! The nations are supposed to be united! How are we to stand united when we refuse to send help to a part of the United Nations that need our help?" Katara looked at all of the advisers who were seated around the table as she spoke, but she was surprised when one of them suddenly spoke up.

"Actually, maybe this is a win-win situation. The Water Tribe becoming a part of the United Four Nations was causing unrest amongst the other nations and causing rebels to try and rise up as well. This plague could maybe get rid of the Water Tribe as a whole, except for those there who can heal themselves and others they come in contact with, and then the only ones left are those who could be of use to the Fire Nation, and the other nations as well. Then the Water Tribe could maybe join the United Nations." He said and sat back in his chair, satisfied with himself.

The other advisers began whispering and murmuring in agreement.

"Wait wait wait! So you're saying that the Water Tribe will not become part of the United Nations until they are basically wiped out by this terrible plague, and the only surviving members are people that either didn't catch the plague or were able to heal themselves?" Katara asked and the adviser nodded.

"They're under quarantine right now anyway, and even after we lift the quarantine, how are we to know who is sick and who is not?" The adviser stated, narrowing his eyes at the water bending woman.

"I could go and research it. Learn the symptoms, how to cure it, and secure the necessary medicines that can cure it." Katara reasoned.

"You are forbidden to go." Zuko commanded from the head of the table and Katara felt her face flush with rage.

"I am not your servant!" Katara fired and Zuko waved his hand dismissively.

"You are the Fire Nation's healer. That means that you are under me." He said strictly.

Oh _yes_, she couldn't deny that she had been under him now could she?

Seething from the double meaning behind his words, Katara slammed her palms down flat on the table.

"This is mighty convenient for you all, isn't it?" She accused, her eyes once again circling the room.

"What is that supposed to mean?" An adviser seated beside her questioned and Katara sighed.

"You do not want the Water Tribe to become united with the other nations. Now, all of a sudden, some strange disease has caused a plague in the Water Tribe and now they are under quarantine. Now, you can say you have a reason for them not being able to become a part of the United Nations, and you also get the perk of quieting the rebels. It all seems sssooo perfectly timed." Katara said and her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Everyone in the room understood what she meant behind those words.

The room suddenly spiraled into a roar. Aang dashed to Katara's side as she leaped out to whip out her water and attack an adviser who had just insulted the Water Tribe's people.

"EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Zuko roared from the head of the table, orange flames bursting from his mouth.

Everyone in the room went silent, even Katara, whose chest rose up and down with contained anger.

"Katara, your request to be sent to the Water Tribe has been denied, permanently. Meeting adjourned."

Zuko wanted to tell her because he was terrified of her dying without him being there to help her. He wanted to tell her that he needed her here for more reasons than just healing. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and wanted her as his Fire Lady.

However, when his yellow eyes briefly flickered to her baby blues and he saw the raw pain and hurt there, he knew that those words would be pointless.

Katara pushed away from Aang and strutted out of the conference room without looking back.

Her head was high and her full hips swung side to side and Zuko knew that was for his benefit.

Mai had asked him if the reason he was distancing from her was because of another woman, and he told the truth when he gave his explanation about him being different now.

He was also telling the truth when he had told her all those years ago that she made him feel like he could fly.

But it was a new year now. A new age for the Fire Nation, a new him, and the one who made him feel high on flame grass. The one who made him feel like he could propel himself upwards into the sky and fly was walking away from him.

Katara was the love of his life.

She was sending a message.

The love of his life was walking out.

…

The hooded person once again ran stealthily through the night until they reached their destination.

"The plan worked." They stated as soon as they gave the password and entered the room.

A cheer went up from the crowd.

"It was so easy to sneak into the Water Tribe and spread that disease. Stupid tannies." An elderly Fire Nation scientist bragged from the rear of the room and the crowd erupted into laugher.

"Now all we need is a scapegoat." Stated a rebel named Lee. "Is there anyone in the palace that he is close to?"

The hooded person nodded. "Yes. It's the Water Tribe healer that travelled with the Avatar, Katara. He saved her life recently and they got into a heated debate today. He seemed concerned for her safety." The person explained.

The friend from a few nights before looked at the person with the hood pulled over their face with an expression of worry.

"That doesn't bother you?" They asked.

The person in the hood pulled it back from their face.

"No. Nothing is going on with them. I'm the one that will be the next Fire Lady after all."

The friend shrugged, her pink outfit blinding in the dimness of the secret meeting room.

"If you say so, Mai."

A/N: SURPRISE! LOVE YA'LL! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOOYED THIS CHAPTER! I NEED TO LAY OFF THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON! WOOH! I CAN'T STOP! I'M LIKE MILEY CYRUS RIGHT NOW. EW… that snapped me right out of it. Sorry, I got a little carried away there. I love ya'll. Mwah! Thanks for sticking with me. *blows kisses*


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So you, my lovely reviewers, are scary as shit. Haha! From hikari threatening to stuff her stale muffin in my mouth (No I couldn't say no to that face), to mkm12 and you're just hilarious and so sweet review, and finally to WarriorServent and your terrifying torch and pitchfork. I love you all! It's amazing how you all believe in me more than anyone else in the World; it really makes me feel good. Because you all are so awesome, I will try to update as quickly as I can. Well… this is the second to last chapter. The next chapter will be the finale, and then I will post an epilogue and then maybe an alternate ending so you all don't hate me. ENJOY!

**Chapter 6: Accusations and Love**

"_Did you hear me whispering hello  
Did you see me waving goodbye  
Did you notice...  
That I didn't cry"_

Katara was so angry that she could kill something… or maybe someone.

How DARE he?! He had the audacity to forbid her to leave when the Water Tribe was in trouble.

Maybe he had planned this.

Maybe this had been his plan all along.

Katara stopped mid step once that thought entered her head.

Had he used her?

Was she really just part of his plan?

Katara ran towards her room, desperate to escape the situation.

As soon as she slammed the door behind her, the tears flowed freely down her tan face.

The man she was in love with had used her. He was going to get married soon and her beloved Water Tribe was going to be wiped out. He had planned the demise of her Water Tribe and lied to her and tricked her so that she could not help them.

He hadn't changed. He was the same Zuko that had tied her to the tree and taunted her with her treasured necklace.

Maybe if she had been paying attention then she would have seen the signs. Instead, she had focused on him because she thought-

Katara wrapped her strong arms around her slender waist as her body shook.

The pain inside of her heart was ripping her apart.

Just as quickly as the tears came, they dissipated. With her heart heavy, but mind made up, Katara went to gather her things.

…

Zuko couldn't wait until it was dark so that he could go and see her.

He felt sick. All day he had been pacing back and forth in his room, wearing a path in the floor.

His urge to see her was like an unquenchable thirst and waiting was pure torture.

He laughed at the thought.

He just compared seeing his lover to being thirsty. When did life become this dramatic? It was like a soap opera.

Zuko glanced outside for what felt like the millionth time and he noticed that it was dark.

A grin broke out upon Zuko's face and he raced to the door, his golden eyes dancing with excitement.

Just as he reached for the door it swung open from the other side, and there she stood.

"Mai… what are you doing here? And why are you looking at me like that?"

…...

Katara grabbed her bag that contained all of her belongings and sighed as her eyes travelled the room.

It was here, in this room that Zuko had barged in. He had kissed her until her lips were swollen and red. He had held her and she had moaned his name. His pale and muscular arms had been around her, her long chocolate hair splayed out across the pillows as they became one.

Katara blinked as tears once again began to fill her aquamarine eyes.

She sighed, and her shoulders rose up and down.

Then, she smiled.

He had hurt her, yes. But she and he had hurt Aang and Mai, although the latter two didn't know it yet.

The memories in the room were painful. 14 days of love and magic and _making_ love and magic.

Katara's smile widened. She sounded like a poet.

She and Zuko were in the past.

Her conceited behavior was over with. She had to save her people, even if it took her dying breath.

Katara turned and exited the room.

As she walked through the palace and to the exit however, a sudden sense of dread struck her.

Something was wrong.

Katara slowly placed her bag on the floor of the hallway and quietly drew water from her pouch.

Then she heard it.

Footsteps, a lot of them, were coming from every direction in the hallway.

Before Katara could even blink, Fire Nation soldiers surrounded her, all in fighting stances.

Toph stepped forward.

Because of her bravery and strength at the last battle, Toph was a police chief and would become head police chief of the United Nations once they were actually united.

"What's going on, Toph?" Katara asked, turning in place as she twirled the water around her.

"You're under arrest, Katara." Toph said. No emotion was in her voice at all and she refused to meet her best friend's eyes.

The water around Katara fell to the floor.

"W-W-W-W-Why?" Katara stammered and confusion laced on her beautiful features.

Toph's un-seeing eyes snapped to Katara. Her expression was blank.

"Katara, you are under arrest for treason and conspiracy." Toph snapped and Katara felt the men grab her arms and legs, putting pressure on certain spots so that she was unable to water bend.

Katara screamed and the sound echoed throughout the whole palace.

…

As soon as Zuko heard her scream, he lost it.

He sat in a chair in his royal red bedroom, elbows on his knees, and his head hanging between his legs.

He grabbed a handful of his hair with both hands and yelled, fire roaring from deep within his being and out of his mouth.

Salty tears streamed down his face and onto the floor, making a dripping sound echo throughout the room.

He heard her scream again and pain ripped through him, widening the ache that he already felt for her.

In a fit of rage he shot to his feet and threw the chair as hard as he could into the wall.

He yelled again, his yellow eyes turning a terrifying shade of gold as fire once again spurted from his mouth.

Zuko could have killed someone.

DAMN IT!

Zuko's bedroom door opened and there she stood, the one who had told him the one thing that shattered his heart.

"What now, Mai? Any other devastating news you want to tell me?!" He accused as he took a menacing step towards her.

Mai stared blankly at him and blinked.

"Don't be upset with me for telling you the truth. Why are you so upset anyway? I know she was close to you but you're acting like-" Mai suddenly took a look at him.

His hair was disheveled and hung messily around his face. There were burn marks all over the walls and floor. His eyes were red and there were tear tracks on his gorgeous yet scarred face.

Mai's eyes narrowed.

Zuko never cried. Why was Katara so special?

Zuko noticed her observing him and he sighed and ran a hand through his unkempt hair.

If she figured out why he was truly so upset about this news, everything would become ten times worse.

"It hurts like hell, Mai. I took a lightning bolt for her. I helped her hunt down her mother's killer. We were close. Now I find out that she has been corresponding with rebels so that she can de-throne me and stage a coup so that Aang can become the sole leader to make sure that the Water Tribe becomes a part of the United Nations.. It just makes no sense. But… it's her handwriting. It's her name on these letters. And there are even people from the Fire Nation that state having seen her in the city to send these letters off. I just… I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest." Zuko ranted. When he finished, Mai just looked at him.

Before he knew what was happening she was in front of him, her lips were centimeters away from his.

"I'm going to be your Fire Lady. I will always protect you and I will never betray you. I'm not, Katara." Mai whispered into his ear. She knew they were lies but he didn't. She would make sure she was the Fire Lady before her and the rebels' plan went through.

Mai closed the gap between his lips and hers and kissed him with a passion that she had never seemed to have before.

Her hands were opening his robe, but she noticed that he was not responding to his kisses.

She kissed him harder. Her hands trailed down his chest to his-

Suddenly Zuko had his hands on her shoulders.

Mai felt her heart accelerate in her chest. He was going to respond to her. He loved her.

Zuko pushed Mai away. "We're never going to get married, Mai." He confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

Without another word he walked around her and out of his bedroom door.

"Maybe I should have never told you! I should have let that bitch take you out!" Mai screamed at his back as he left the room.

She saw Zuko halt in his tracks and his back tensed up.

He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her.

"Don't call her that ever again. We're done, Mai. We have been for a while. Let it go." Zuko murmured and left the room to go to the woman he truly loved.

He was going to hear her out. He had to.

…

Katara felt like her heart had been ripped in half.

She was so confused.

Her leaving was worthy of her being a traitor? And what did Toph mean when she said that Katara committed conspiracy?

Katara shifted and tried to get comfortable.

The cell for a traitor was rough.

There was no bed in the cell and no light either.

She lay on the floor, her perfect body curled around itself. Tears racked her petite frame and in that moment, she gave up.

….

Zuko walked into the cell and he saw her look up at him. He saw her blank face and he saw that she was broken.

He walked into the room, his large frame taking up most of the tiny cell of the traitor.

His golden eyes glinted with tears but he had to ask.

"Why did you do it, Katara?" Zuko asked, his hands clenching into fists as they lay at his muscular side.

Katara raised her deep ocean blue eyes to his sculpted face. "Do what? Try to leave to protect my people? Why did you throw me in here for that? Why did you have me arrested?" Katara hissed, but there wasn't any venom behind her words.

Zuko looked at her. "Don't play dumb, Katara. I saw the letters you wrote. You were trying to get close to me so you could stage a coup Aang could take over the United Nations and you would marry him so you two rule together." Zuko scowled, hurt apparent in his face.

Katara squinted her eyes at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" Katara asked. She was genuinely confused.

Zuko had all the letters in a pocket of his robe and in a flourish fit to be in a dramatic play he ripped them out and threw them in front of the tanned girl on the floor.

Katara covered her face as the letters rained down on her.

"Really, Zuko? What is this? Death by a thousand paper cuts?" Katara questioned but she still ripped a letter from the air and read it.

Rage filled her pretty face and even though she was broken, she was still strong.

Katara rose to her feet.

"I NEVER WROTE THIS!" She screeched and Zuko's face hardened.

"Your signature is on them, Katara! They even mentioned your name!" Zuko fired back and he almost let flames leap out of his mouth but she would get hurt and even after what she did, he could never hurt her.

"Zuko, when would I have had time to write this? As soon as the sun went down I was with you. During the day I was either teaching the rest of the healers, healing people myself, or working on strengthening ties between the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation." Katara rationally said to the Fire Lord.

Zuko felt his body stiffen. What if Katara was telling the truth? Then something even worse was going on. Katara was being framed but by what and by who? But how did he know she was telling the truth? He had so much proof that she was NOT telling the tru-

Zuko's thoughts were interrupted by Katara who suddenly punched him so hard he went reeling.

"You used me! You set me up!" She screamed at him as Zuko nursed his now bruised cheek.

"How did I set you up?! You're trying to get me KILLED!" Zuko yelled and this time he couldn't control the flames that shot out of his mouth.

Katara moved back just in time but she tripped on the uneven flooring and fell to the hard ground with a yelp.

The Fire Lord felt his heart soften and he took a step towards her to help her but then he halted his advance. He knew what would happen if he touched her. He knew the consequences of Katara's soft skin.

Katara looked up at him and her expression was the same as it had been when he first entered the cell.

Broken.

"Just kill me quickly and do not hang me, like most traitors are killed. That would shame my family." Katara whispered.

"Katara-" Zuko started to speak but Katara's cold glance stopped him.

"Now that I am considered a traitor and everyone in the nation knows, I will have to be killed." Katara said simply. Her voice was cold and calculated. There was no emotion there.

"No one will kill you. No matter what you do or what you did, Katara, I love you and I know I shouldn't because you… you cooked up this scheme-" Zuko started to speak as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I love you too much to ever hurt you or plan to hurt you. I hope you realize that one day." Katara interrupted, her husky voice an almost silent whisper and Zuko still felt so torn.

He did not know what to do.

With a sigh Zuko turned to leave.

As he left the cell he spared one glance, just one, over his shoulder to look at the woman that for some reason he still loved.

She sat there, eyes straight ahead, watching him. She was not crying. She was not shaking. She was not angry.

She was numb.

She lifted up a hand strong from mastering water bending and waved slightly.

He turned his head away and locked the cell door behind him.

…

Zuko walked out of the dungeon and into the hallway and was instantly hit on the head with something like felt eerily reminiscent.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" A furious voice yelled out and Zuko was hit again.

He remembered why the weapon felt familiar.

It was a boomerang.

Zuko turned to face his assailant.

"YOU'RE THE TRAITOR! KATARA WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" Sokka accused as he rushed at Zuko again.

Aang was right beside Sokka and the Avatar pulled the other man back.

The Avatar's gray eyes held unconcealed fury. In that moment, Zuko was glad that Aang was a non-violent monk.

"Zuko, something wrong is going on here. We need to figure out what it is. We all know that Katara is innocent." Aang urged but Zuko shook his head.

"How do you explain the evidence against her?" Zuko questioned.

"FORGERY!" Sokka exclaimed in his typical Sokka fashion and Aang and Zuko both recoiled at the high pitch of his voice.

"I don't want her down there any more than you two do but… until proof is found, Katara of the Water Tribe is considered a traitor." Zuko stated coldly and before the other men could respond he was briskly walking away.

He ignored them calling after him.

He needed to get to the bottom of this.

Alone.

If someone found of the two of them were lovers now, everything would fall apart.

…

Mai was furious and paced restlessly in the secret meeting room.

The hawk-owls hooted ominously outside.

"Mai, you failed." Lee stated and Mai clenched her teeth together but stayed silent.

"Do you know what this means now?" Lee asked and Mai sighed.

"It's not my fault! You promised that you would release my family!" Mai exclaimed, her monotone gone and replaced with passion.

"If you managed to become the Fire Lady and get the information we needed, I said that I would. You failed to do that!" Lee argued and the other rebels mumbled in agreement.

The girl in the pink's pretty face formed a frown and she walked towards Lee, hoping to reason with her boyfriend.

He placed one of his calloused hands on her slender shoulder as she approached and shoved her to the ground.

"Stay out of this, Ty Lee!" He commanded.

Mai went to her friend's side and helped her to her feet.

"What is wrong with you?" Mai asked and Lee pointed a large finger at her.

"YOU are my problem, Mai!" He screamed at her.

Mai wanted to stab his eyes out with her daggers right then and there but she maintained her stoic expression instead.

After a moment of the two glaring at each other, Lee spoke up.

"I'll give you an hour to say goodbye to your family." He said and the mob of people erupted into an odd melody of cries and cheers.

Mai felt herself breaking down. She had betrayed, hurt, and killed so many to save her family. She was not going to let them perish now because of her mistake.

"Please! NO!" Mai yelled over the roar of the crowd and Lee raised a hand until finally all was quiet.

Lee walked towards Mai until their noses were almost touching.

"I'll give you one more chance." He warned, his breath spicy.

Before she could react, Lee's hand was in her sleeve, around one of her daggers, and he whipped the dagger out of her sleeve and into her hands.

"Tomorrow, we are going to attack the Fire Nation palace, and we are not just going to overthrow Zuko. We are going to kill him. Well not we really, but _you_." Lee instructed and Mai felt her heart shatter.

"You said that we were just going to overthrow him. You never said we were going to kill him. I can't do that. I love him." Mai protested and Lee grabbed her thin forearms in his hands and shook her.

"You're not in a position to be making demands, Mai! Since you fucked up, we have no option left. You either kill him or I'll go in there and kill your whole family and make you watch. And if you even try to stop me, these wonderful people out here will have you lying in a pool of your own blood in seconds." Lee smirked evilly, a large grin on his face.

The crowd erupted into a roar and Lee shoved Mai back.

Ty Lee instantly went to her side but no one was paying attention to the young ladies anymore.

"DOWN WITH LORD ZUKO! DOWN WITH LORD ZUKO!" Lee began to chant, pumping his fist into the air as if he was some kind of vigilante.

Mai had never really liked anyone, nor had she hated anyone, so she was usually pretty neutral. But she loved her family, she loved Ty Lee, and for some sick reason she loved Azula.

The one she loved the most though was Zuko and she was going to have to kill him. He had trusted her. He had thrown one of the people closest in the World to him in prison because she had convinced him to do so.

She had hurt him and now she was going to have to kill him.

As she looked at Lee she knew that he was ruthless and he would go through with his threats.

Tears began to stream down her face.

Ty Lee wrapped her arms around her friend as she cried and for once Mai was comforted by the contact.

As the crowd of women and men chanted to kill the love of her life, Mai knew what she had to do.

Her destiny had just been determined.

A/N: This was a long chapter and I hope that you all enjoyed it! The next one is probably going to be even longer because it's the last chapter! Any guesses on how this is all going to play out? Love ya'll! MWAH! *blows kisses*


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Yes, as one of my dear reviewers sad, things definitely escalated quickly. Things had been basically internal conflict only for a while there but then things got real and now this is the finale… like I said… please don't like hunt me down and lynch me. I will write this chapter and an epilogue immediately after and then an alternate ending and probably an epilogue for that as well. Enjoy! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH

**Chapter 7: The Destruction**

"_Your taste I don't mind, it was worth the try  
And though uninvited, I came by  
Did you notice...  
That I didn't cry"_

Katara awoke to the sound of her jail cell being whipped open.

She leaped to her feet and moved to bend water from the pouch that she always had on her side but then she remembered that they had taken it away from her when she had been arrested.

She had been arrested.

The thought hit Katara like a brick and she almost forgot that someone was barging into her cell.

Almost.

She wondered if she would be able to sweat bend but that would take too much time and the cell was tiny.

She was basically blocked into a corner.

The moon was a white crescent shape in the sky, and she could only blood bend under a full moon so that was out of the question too.

Katara simply retreated to the darkest corner of the room, even though she knew it was futile.

She heard heavy footsteps enter the room and she instantly knew that it was the sound of someone that worked on the Fire Nation police force.

The footsteps approached and were finally right in front of the young Alaskan woman.

She wanted to raise her eyes and see her intruder but then she realized that she didn't want to see whoever the person was.

If they came to kill her, she wanted to be happy before she went.

Her mother had always said that.

But, in the end, her mother had died screaming as she protected her only daughter.

Fuck that happy thought shit.

Katara whipped her eyes up to the person who just barged into her cell like they owned it and gasped.

"Really Sugar Queen? Out of all the places to hide, a dark corner in an empty cell?"

Katara smiled with relief, but then that smile instantly vanished when she remembered that her so called best friend had been the one to arrest her.

"You already arrested me. Are you here to take me to my execution as well? How kind of you?" Katara sarcastically thanked.

Toph's forehead scrunched with anger.

"I'm not the one who tried to get our ally killed. He's the only one that can get the Fire Nation on our side! And you tried to kill him!" Toph snapped back and Katara shot to her feet, her long legs making her stand well above the other petite and pale woman.

"You KNOW me, Toph! I would never write any of those things! When would I even had had time and I love, Zuko! I love him more than anything! I would nev-!" Katara words halted right in her throat when she realized that Toph was staring at her blankly.

Toph may have been blind but her expressions always read out on her face.

Then, Katara realized why Toph was looking at her that way.

She had just confessed her love for Zuko. Yet when Toph had asked her how she felt about Zuko she had lied to her face.

Katara wished word bending was a thing. She would take those words right from the air and put them back inside her where they belonged.

Katara rolled her eyes at herself.

She had been alone in the cell too long. She was now talking about word bending. Awesome.

Katara waited for Toph to respond. She needed her best friend to say anything.

Suddenly, Toph's face lighted up with her signature smirk.

"I KNEW IT! ALL THOSE THUMPS FROM DOWNSTAIRS WAS THE TWO OF YOU BANGING THE SHIT OUT OF EACH OTHER! THIS IS GREAT!" Toph screeched, laughing the whole way throughout.

Say what you wanted to say about Toph but that girl never changed.

After Toph's laughter died down enough for Katara to actually speak, she did.

"What am I going to tell Aang?" Katara questioned quietly, just loud enough for Toph to hear.

Toph's cheeks lit up with a pink blush and Katara wondered why.

She continued to blush as she began to speak as well.

"The truth. What you did was still wrong, and Aang didn't deserve that. Anyways, I've come to release you. The Fire Lord says so and specifically asked me to do so. He also said for you to come to his chambers when you are ready to." Toph smirked and winked at Katara when she mentioned going to Zuko's chambers and Katara wanted to both smack that smirk off her face and hug her at the same time.

She chose the latter.

"Sugar Queen… if you're about to do that speech thing you did the WHOLE time we were trying to get Aang to master the four elements, I'm leaving."

Katara laughed and simply squeezed the younger girl tighter and was surprised when the younger girl squeezed back.

"I'm sorry for… ya know… arresting you… and not believing you and stuff…" Toph stutteringly apologized and although she couldn't see it, Katara felt tears fill up her eyes.

"I'm sorry I lied to you about ya know Zuko… and stuff." Katara mimicked and Toph pulled away and punched the older girl's arms.

As Katara murmured an "ow!", the two young women laughed.

…

Zuko knew who had set him up. And he felt like the biggest fool in the World.

As soon as he set down and thought about it, he knew.

He also wondered how many people were involved in this set up. It was quite an elaborate scheme when you thought of it.

Suddenly, the door to his chambers opened and in she walked.

She had made herself as beautiful as possible.

Golden flower cream was smeared on the back of her eyelids, and black Fire Nation coal lined her azure eyes. Her lips were glossed with bee-spider honey, a concoction that was used in almost all of the Fire Nation because it was so natural and pretty.

Her body was clothed in a deep red and gold dress that fell to her knees but had a slit up to the middle of her strong and tan thighs. The dress had a tight waist and on Katara's voluptuous and toned body it really enhanced her… other body featured. The sleeves of the dress were a sheer and sleek material and stopped at her wrists.

Her mahogany hair was straightened with some sort of heat enriched siberwhale comb that Zuko had even seen his sister using once. It fell down her back and the part around her framed her face like a halo.

Zuko gulped as he took her all in, completely forgetting why he had called her there.

He was entranced to say the least.

Along with that, his heart was bursting with pure want and love for the woman.

God, he had fucked up.

Katara bowed before him.

"Katara." Zuko stated and Katara noted with great satisfaction how much deeper his once was.

His voice always got like that when he was in a certain mood.

"I need to apologize to you." Zuko said in a rush. Apologizing used to not be his strong suit but when he joined sides with the Avatar he had learned to do it quite well.

Katara stood up and was just looking at him.

He rose from his chair and knelt before her and he heard her intake a breath.

"I am so sorry for doubting you and your love. I know now who the real traitor is. It was not, nor was it ever, you. I am so sorry for all the pain that I have caused you." Zuko stated humbly.

He looked up at the love of his life. She was smiling.

She reached down and offered him her hand. Any chance to touch her, he would gladly take.

Once he was on his feet, he still held firmly to her hand and then Katara saw something in his eyes, those beautiful honey yellow eyes.

His lips were on hers in an instant, soft and begging.

The sheen on her lips tasted delicious but he was wary, begging for her permission.

She yielded, and draped her arms across his broad and muscular shoulders.

That was all he needed.

He tangled his long fingers in her mahogany tresses and she gasped as her slim arms pulled him tighter.

With a sudden surge of control he pulled back from her not-glossy-anymore lips.

"I love you." He whispered, his now lip gloss tainted lips merely inches away from hers.

"And I love you." She gasped back and he smiled a smile so devastatingly white and perfect back at her that she couldn't help but smile too.

Suddenly he heard screams from outside and he withdrew from Katara and quickly walked to a window in the bedroom.

People in torn Fire Nation clothes were attacking his guards.

His powerful and appointed guards were the ones screaming.

"What's happening?!" Katara questioned as she raced to his side.

Suddenly, the screams were coming from inside the palace and Zuko knew instantly what was happening.

"The rebels are attacking the palace." He whisper, almost not believing what he was seeing.

Katara grasped the pouch that was at her side and was running towards the door when Zuko stopped her.

He placed two heavy and large hands on each of her petite shoulders.

"They're coming to kill me, Katara, but no matter what happens, don't you dare get yourself hurt. Especially if it's for me." Zuko scolded. Katara scoffed at him and brushed his hands away.

"This coming from the man that took a lightning bolt for me. We don't have time for this. We love each other and we will all take these rebels down." Katara said confidently.

Zuko leaned down for one kiss. He needed it. Who knew if they would even survive this?

He needed to show her one last time that he loved her.

The door the bedroom was suddenly kicked in and splintered to a hundred pieces.

A large man stood there and beside him stood two people that Katara was surprised to see.

Zuko however, was not surprised at all.

"Wow." The large man said and he looked pointedly at Mai, whose mouth was open in shock.

Ty Lee looked at her friend, shock also smeared across her pretty features.

"Her? Her?! It's been her this whole time I bet!" Mai screamed and her face was one of blind rage.

Zuko shook his head. "Can you really be angry at me, Mai? You were working with the rebels this whole time. Trying to subtly pry information out of me about my politics and policies and trying desperately to get me to marry you as soon as possible. You wanted to be as close as me as possible so you could overthrow me. You knew that Katara and I were close. You used her as a scapegoat so you could move in for the kill-" Zuko's eyes flickered to the daggers in between Mai's fingers. "-literally."

Katara looked up at Zuko and he could not tell if she was relieved, confused, angry, or all of the above.

Tears welled up in Mai's eyes and Zuko was genuinely surprised.

"I loved you." She seethed quietly and before anyone could react she tossed a dagger right at Zuko's sculpted face.

…

_Meanwhile, in the entry to the palace…_

Aang tossed all of the rebels back with a gust of powerful wind. With Momo making noises to alert him to what directions the rebels were coming from, he used his stick to knock them out quickly and one at a time.

Beside him, Toph was using metal bending on the rebels carrying weapons to make them use the weapons on themselves or each other. If she was not using metal bending, she was using earth bending to mess up the rebels' footing and then dropping them through the floor or hitting them with rocks.

Beside her, Sokka and Suki were working together as a team and faring incredibly well. Sokka had picked up a great deal of martial arts training from his girlfriend also from his sister, Aang, and Toph. Suki's fan was razor sharp and with a simple deep prick to the throat or chest, the guards were on the floor. Sokka's boomerang was also a good tool. He had learned from Suki how to install metal on one side and sharpen it as well as throwing it with better precision.

The goal was to keep the rebels from entering past the main entry of the palace and into the palace itself. If they got in there, who knows how many innocent lives could be lost? The Fire Nation palace always had countless important guests from other nations, tribes, and kingdoms and not only would they most likely be killed, so would the hundreds of workers that worked in the palace.

Toph spared a glance at Aang and had to admire how he was doing. Unlike Sokka and Suki, or herself, he was trying his hardest to not severely harm anyone. It was wearing him down of course because the men would gather themselves and come back at the Avatar.

Toph had a moment free so she kicked the ground and a mound of Earth hit the men and knocked them into a wall, rendering them unconscious.

Aang smiled gratefully but Toph couldn't see it so he called out his thanks to her and Toph felt her heartbeat accelerate. It had been happening for a while every time she felt him around her or he spoke to her.

"You're welcome, Twinkle Toes!" Toph responded and she pushed her feelings to the back of her mind and the mismatched quartet continues fighting.

…

_In the Fire Lord's bedroom…_

Zuko moved to dodge the weapon but he didn't have to.

When Zuko looked, the dagger was stuck in a wall of ice in front of him and the room was silent.

"Cheap shot, Mai." Katara admonished.

"The only thing cheap in here is the woman who slept with a man who was engaged to someone else, and that'd be you." Mai fired back.

Katara gritted her white teeth together.

"Well they always says what you won't do, a better and more beautiful woman will, Mai." Katara smirked and Mai launched herself at the tan woman.

Ty Lee, of course, followed her lead.

Lee sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Mai… your mission is to kill the Fire Lord." He reminded her.

Mai seemed to be thinking deeply so Lee spoke again.

"Do you want me to kill your family?" He asked and that's when Mai turned her attention from Katara to Zuko.

"I'll get her for you, Mai!" Ty Lee chirped happily and continued towards Katara.

Lee leaned his sturdy back onto the wall and waited to watch the show.

Mai swing a dagger at Zuko's face and he took a step back.

"What did he mean about killing your family?" Zuko asked as he dodged another dagger, this one aimed at his midsection.

"Oh, now you care?!" Mai fired back, angrily swiping a dagger towards his chest.

Zuko narrowly dodged this one, and as Mai pulled her arm back he grasped it and turned it behind her back.

She hissed in pain.

"You never told me anything, Mai! Anything! I could have helped you! How could you so willingly turn on me?" Zuko yelled as he restrained her.

Mai twisted out of his grasped and swung a dagger at his skull.

He caught her wrist in his hand and the point of the dagger was mere inches from his nose.

Mai starred at him, her hand shaking.

"I'm so sorry that I lied to you… that I deceived you. I'm sorry that I never… I never treated you like I loved you." Mai whispered to him.

Zuko blinked at her, he was utterly confused.

"I don't want to kill you, Zuko, even after what I just found out I don't want to kill you… but I have to. He will kill my family if I don't. That's the true reason I got freed from prison. If I became the Fire Lady and gave information to the rebels and helped to overthrow you then I would be spared. However, when I refused, they took me family and threatened me. I'm sorry." Mai apologized again before ripping her way out of Zuko's grip. She took on a fighting stance and he did the same.

"Enough of the confessions!" Lee shouted at them and without a second thought Mai once again charged.

On the opposite side of the large royal bedroom, Ty Lee and Katara had tuned out everything else and were simply focused on each other.

Ty Lee swung her index and middle fingers at Katara's limbs, trying to cripple her. Katara deftly moved out of the way and tried to counter Ty Lee with her water bending attacks, but Ty Lee was a gymnast and was too agile and flexible.

The fight was frustrating for both parties.

And it felt like it had been going on forever.

Both parties were breathing heavily.

"My boyfriend, Lee, is the mastermind behind all this. Isn't he great?" Ty Lee gushed, genuinely smiling at the other woman as she tried to hit the pressure point of her elbow.

Katara lashed out with a water whip and Ty Lee shook her hand in annoyance rather than pain.

Katara raised an eyebrow and flicked her eyebrows to the large man who stood watching Mai and Zuko fight and Ty Lee nodded.

"Is it not weird that his name is Lee and your name is _Ty_-Lee?" Katara questioned as she threw an ice spike towards Ty Lee.

Ty Lee used it as a stepping stone and jumped on top of it and then kicked towards Katara's face.

Katara swatted her foot away and the woman in too much pink spun in the air before landing on her feet and shrugging and switching topics as she circled the water bender.

"You didn't have to be so catty to Mai earlier you know!" Ty Lee reminded cheerfully and Katara nodded as she dodged a blow of Ty Lee's nimble fingers to her throat.

"You're right. It was wrong of me. I was just jealous is all. And my father always taught to never take anything lying down." Katara stated as she swung a water whip at her opponent.

Ty Lee smirked as she flipped over the whipped, her body curled into a ball and landed behind Katara.

She placed her hands on the floor and swung her leg around in a sweep, knocking Katara to her back on the floor.

"It's funny that you said that because it seems like you take a lot of things lying down." Ty Lee giggled at her own joke.

"What happened to not being catty?" Katara asked from her position on the floor.

"Sorry!" Ty Lee smiled apologetically but used a tone that Katara could tell that she was not sorry at all.

Katara waited patiently. She knew that Ty Lee was an impatient fighter, just from the way she fought. She wanted to quickly disable someone and then be done. That's why she was so fast.

Ty Lee sprang into action. She leaped gracefully into the hair, her fingers aimed for the nerve on Katara's neck. From the height and speed that Ty Lee was coming down at, Katara knew that Ty Lee could kill her with that strike.

At the last moment Katara bended the water from her side and raised a wall of freezing ice in front of her body. She heard Ty Lee gasped as she realized what was about to happen and then she heard a crunch and Ty Lee screamed at the top of her lungs as her fingers first crunched against the ice and then her body slammed into it.

As Ty Lee toppled off of the block of ice from the force of her landing onto the floor Katara rolled out from under the ice, used water bending to melt it, and then wrapped all of Ty Lee's body in the water (except for her head so that she could breathe) and froze her.

Katara was panting by this point from exertion and when she looked over at Mai and Zuko and froze.

Mai was staring open mouthed at her unconscious friend and from the look on Mai's face, Katara realized that Mai thought that her friend was not unconscious but something way worse.

However, Mai could not stop fighting Zuko because she knew what she had to do. Not for herself, but for her family.

Katara saw the determination in Mai's eyes and she ran to join in the fight but before she could, two beefy arms were around her waist and she was tossed into the wall so hard that stars appeared behind her eyes.

In some distant land she heard Zuko call out to her and she heard a man cry out but she couldn't focus.

After a moment Katara blinked and suddenly she could see, but what she saw sent her into full fledge panic mode.

Zuko was lying on the ground and blood was pouring from a deep wound in his stomach and decorating the floor.

Katara instantly started to rise to get over to him and heal him but when she stood, the throb in her head hit her so hard that she fell to her knees.

She began to crawl towards Zuko but then she saw two feet in front of her.

She remembered that this was the same situation as earlier, when she was in the prison cell.

She was helpless and at the mercy of an intruder.

She remembered her mother's words but she still raised her eyes and looked up at the person who stood in front of her.

She unconsciously stretched her hand out towards Zuko, just like he had done to her when he had been struck by Azula and Azula had then attacked Katara.

Lee's sneering face was the last thing she saw before his fist connected with her skull and her world disappeared into a darkness no color could penetrate.

…

_In the entry hall to the palace…_

There were a lot more rebels than anyone could have expected and that is how they were winning. Not by their inhuman strength but by the number of them.

More people from the Fire Nation wanted the United Nations to not happen than even thought possible.

Suki, Sokka, Toph, and Aang all stood back to back in a tight circle as the rebel soldiers surrounded them.

"Aang! Can you enter the Avatar State?" Sokka asked as he wiped out his boomerang into the crowd. Several men were taken down and he easily caught the boomerang in his hand once it returned.

"I'm afraid of what will happen if I do. These people are just fighting for what they think is right. I don't want to-to hurt anyone." Aang confessed.

Sokka sighed but he knew that there was no budging Aang on the subject.

The four of them edged even closer together as the group approached. They were all exhausted. But now was not the time to give up.

"FORGET THIS!" Toph screamed as she stomped her bare foot into the ground.

Waves of rocks went out into the crowd, forcibly separating them into four sections.

The rebels became confused and began calling out to one another. However, it was so loud that no one could be heard.

The four members of the Gaang began fighting again, each one taking on one specific section.

Just as they were making headway, just as they thought that everything was going to be alright a feminine voice screeched.

"QUIET!"

When no on heeded the commanding word flames of blue fire danced through the air above the entire entry hall and everyone stopped.

Only one person could breathe blue fire.

"No!" Aang cried out.

"Seize them!" The voice commanded again and the rebels advanced on each of the remaining people fighting for the United Nation.

The first place where the rebels grabbed them was the pressure points on their wrists, preventing them from bending.

Toph wanted to cry as the rebels over powered her and her friends and forced them deeper into the palace until they were in the throne room.

When she saw who the voice belonged to she wanted to cry.

They had lost. They had really and truly lost.

As Toph looked around at her friends, who were all handcuffed and forced to their knees in front of the throne, she had to wonder…

Where were Katara and Zuko?

Her question was answered when the door to the side of the throne room opened and Katara was dragged in by Mai and Zuko was dragged in by some large man.

Blood was trailing behind him.

"KATARA! ZUKO!" Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Aang all cried out as they saw their friends.

"How could you?!" Suki hissed at Mai.

Toph noticed that Mai lowered her eyes to the ground and refused to look at any of them.

Mai and the large man dropped the bodies in front of the woman who had draped her pale and slender body over the throne.

She kicked at Zuko.

"You awake Zuzu?" She asked sweetly.

Zuko rolled on his side and starred up at his sister.

"Go to hell." He snapped.

Azula rolled her eyes.

"Come on, big brother! You could have come up with something better than that!" She smiled sweetly at him before kicking him in his wound and he groaned and collapsed to the floor in pain.

Katara still lay unmoving.

"What did you do to them!?" Aang yelled and his voice was angrier than anyone had ever heard it.

"Why do you care? Do you even know them… really?" Azula sneered.

"Of course I do!" Aang snapped!

"She's your girlfriend and he's your best friend right?" Azula asked, examining her nails that were dirty from the cell she had been locked in since Katara and Zuko defeated her.

When Aang nodded Azula's sneer stretched into a full blown Cheshire cat grin.

"Well then do I have some news for you!" Azula exclaimed excitedly.

Zuko groaned from his place on the now bloody floor.

"Please don't." He begged but Azula just laughed.

"I have been secretly receiving letters from you fian- excuse me- now ex-fiancée for a long time now and then today she dropped quite a bit of news on me that I for one was surprised to hear! I must share it with everyone!" Azula bragged, clapping her hands together.

"Please." Zuko whispered but Azula just went on speaking as if she hadn't heard him.

"Well, young Avatar, your best friend and your girlfriend were sleeping together and for a while now apparently. While you were asleep in your bed dreaming of your future with this little thing here, Zuko was teaching her some new Fire Nation positions." Azula laughed at her joke and Aang was shaking with anger.

"Don't tell lies on my sister when she can't defend herself!" Sokka admonished Azula and she simply laughed at him.

"They're not lies! Zuzu tell them!"

When Zuko simply glared at her, Azula's wheat eyes shone with craziness as they had during his final battle with her.

"IF YOU DON'T TELL THEM I WILL STRIKED HER WITH LIGHTNING RIGHT HERE AND NOW AND THIS TIME YOU CAN'T BE THE PERFECT PRINCE AND SAVE HER!" Azula screamed at her brother as spit flew from her cracked lips.

"NO!" Zuko and those that loved Katara cried out at once. The rebels in the room, however, began to cheer and clap loudly.

"WE HAD AN AFFAIR!" Zuko yelled over the noise and the crowd was actually quiet as the information was absorbed.

If Aang was angry before he was furious now.

Toph was wondering if he was actually going to go into the Avatar state.

"How could you?" Aang murmured and his expression was one of shock.

"That can't be true…" Sokka whispered, his eyes boring into his sister. He mentally begged her to wake up so she could defend herself and tell the truth.

"It's true." Toph said and all heads turned to her.

"She told me when I released her this morning." Toph confessed.

"Why wouldn't you tell me, Toph! Out of everyone you were supposed to be the one who always told the truth!" Aang yelled and Toph felt tears she didn't even know were in her eyes spill down her flushed cheeks.

"I told her to tell you the truth but I laughed it off because deep down I was happy about it because then maybe I would have a chance with you. I may be tough and act like I don't care but I do care! Especially for you." The words spilled out of Toph's mouth before she could stop them.

"Okay okay confession time is over! I get that you all about to die so you want to get it out of your system but I don't care to hear any of it. Maybe in the next life you all can reunite." Azula smirked and got into her lightning bending stance.

"Now who's first?" Azula asked as her eyes flickered to each of the four people in front of her.

"Azula wait!" Mai suddenly said from her position beside the throne.

Azula turned an annoyed eye to her.

Toph took the opportunity to try and slip her hands out of her handcuffs.

"You said no one would get killed." She reminded and Azula rolled her eyes at her.

Toph was glad that she had small hands for once in her life.

"I lie about everything. Out of all people you should know that by now." Azula smiled sincerely and Mai felt her skin crawl.

She turned and saw Lee smiling at her and she wondered if he was lying too.

What if her family was already dead?

Even if they weren't, how would he get back to them and kill them if he was dead?

The only person who cared enough about Lee to try and avenge was his girlfriend who was currently in the Fire Lord's bedroom encased in ice.

Mai starred at Azula whose eyes were truly crazy, she was truly unhinged. How many more people would she kill for fun? The Fire Nation would remain separate but it would be turmoil under her insane rule.

Mai made her decision.

In just a quick second she removed a dagger from her sleeve and plunged it into Lee's neck.

She truly was a two-faced traitor. That was for sure. It was amazing what her catalysts were.

Maybe she was unhinged too.

Lee covered the wound with his hand and gasped as blood began filling his lungs.

He glared at her and then his expression changed.

He was on her in an instant.

He pulled out a dagger from her other sleeve and plunged it into her chest.

Mai starred at the handle of the dagger that protruded from her body and she fell over. And landed a few feet from Zuko.

She ripped out the dagger from her body and tossed it.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered to him and he smiled at her.

"Me too, so no harm no foul. You get back what you put out into the World."

"I'm really sorry for never-" Mai drew in a deep breath as she felt her life slip away. She had maybe thirty seconds. "-never being a good girlfriend to you. Always making you feel less than a man. Less than Azula. For rarely showing you how I felt. And for trying to kill you." Mai smirked.

Zuko knew what she needed to hear.

He was dying too. Bleeding out right in front of her, his death was going to be slow and painful, but he was not going to tell her that.

"I forgive you." He said clearly and she smiled at him. Those smiles were so rare.

"I love you." She stated clearly and a tear slipped down her cheek as he watched her take one more quivering breath before she was gone.

He couldn't bring himself to say it back to her before she was gone.

That was probably the nicest thing that he had ever done for her.

People were running and fighting now, chaos had broken out. The leader of the rebellion was dead. And Azula was throwing lightning strikes into the crowd to quiet them down, but it was only causing more chaos and hysteria.

In the chaos and panic Toph managed to get herself free and she used her bending to shake the ground.

The chaos only escalated and Azula was thrown off balance and landed on her behind.

Toph went and untied Sokka, Suki, and Aang.

Aang used his air bending to fly to the top of the room and then whipped wind around the perimeter of the room until everyone was gathered in the center of the room.

"ENOUGH!" He cried out.

Azula smirked. What an idiot. She had the perfect angle to strike him with lightning now.

Just as she raised her hand, a boomerang struck her in the back of the head.

"God. I've always wanted to do that." He sighed happily and his girlfriend embraced him.

Before getting too comfortable however, he ran to check on his sister and Zuko.

…

Katara awoke in a comfortable and white bed in a white room.

She looked over and saw her brother seated beside her. He smiled weakly at her and she knew. She knew in that moment, before he even spoke the words.

Zuko was gone.

Then he said something that did shock her.

She was pregnant.

A/N: So yeah I'm bawling my damn eyes out. Haha! I hope ya'll love me forever though! I just wrote a 16 page chapter for ya'll! Over 5,700 words! That proves my love! I'm so sorry if it was confusing or if you hated it. If you guys do then I will gladly re write it. I love ya'll so much! Thanks for sticking with me through this craziness! MWAH! *blows kisses*


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I told you I'd upload at the same time.

**The Epilogue**

"_Did you notice...  
That I didn't cry"_

Katara sat in her chair. She had spent all day training that Korra girl, who was the new Avatar.

It was incredibly hard to believe that the peaceful monk that she had married ended up being reincarnated into the just plain bold girl.

Katara sighed as she slowly reached into the pocket of her parka. Her wrinkled skin was pulled across her face, one could barely see her beautiful indigo eyes now.

Finally, Katara's wrinkled hand clasped around the photos in her pocket and she looked around her room before withdrawing the pictures.

One was of her, Aang, and their three children. They were all there. The kids were older now and had kids of their own but they were still those tiny children in the picture to Katara. Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin. Katara smiled at the picture. They looked so happy, and maybe for that brief moment they were.

Aang had forgiven her all those years ago for her infidelity.

Toph had distanced herself after that. She became the Head Police Chief for the United Nations and married a nice earth bending man that they had met on their travels named Haru, and she had seemed happy until she passed away from a terrible disease some years ago.

Aang had always been there for her. Even when her baby died in her womb and she had to deliver it anyways, Aang was right there beside her.

He never knew what that baby meant to Katara though.

He never knew that Katara had wanted that baby more than anything in the World because then she was carrying on Zuko's legacy. That child would have been hers and Zuko's. Theirs only. The only thing she still had of him.

Katara choked back a sob.

When she had tried to heal her dead child in the delivery room and refused to let anyone take it from her, it was Aang who calmed her down.

He was her rock.

But he was not Zuko.

Katara put the picture of her and her family behind the other picture that she held in her hand.

It was her and Zuko. They had it done in secret during those wonderful two weeks when they were always together by someone who they'd paid to keep their silence and they had.

Katara and Zuko stood looking at each other.

His arms were around her waist and she had her arms wrapped under his arms and her hands clasped lightly on his shoulders.

They were smiling but there was something in each of their eyes.

Love. Pure love.

What they had done was wrong. She had never truly regained her reputation but she would do it all over again if she had to.

You only had one love like that in your life.

Although she never told anyone she still smelled his skin. She still felt his lips on hers. She still heard him whisper "I love you" in her ear when she was going through a hard time.

Even after all this time he was her true love and he was always with her.

Even in her dreams he haunted her and she blamed herself so heavily for his death.

It was a weight that was forever in her heart.

Why hadn't she woken up? Why had she not been able to snap out of it long enough to heal him.

He died trying to protect her from Lee. Lee had taken Mai's dagger and stabbed him in his stomach.

Then Mai took that same dagger and plunged it into Lee's throat.

Poetic justice at its finest.

Lee had indeed murdered all of Mai's family and she must have sensed that in those moments.

Deep down she had known.

Katara felt the dry sobs rack her body.

She had cried too much her whole life. It was as if her tears had dried up.

Katara tried to let the memories sustain her.

It wasn't enough.

Nothing was ever enough.

No matter what happened, she could never bring Zuko back and much as she prayed to Agni for him, nothing ever happened.

All those that she had loved in her youth were gone.

Sokka had been murdered on the night of his promotion to the United Nations Head Councilman by some jealous rival who had wanted the same position. It was the day before he and Suki were going to be wed.

Suki had vanished back to Kyoshi Island after that. They leaned on each other in that time, writing hundreds of letters back and forth and sending their favorite pictures or memories of Sokka.

Sokka never held what she and Zuko had done against her.

He loved her in that perfect way that only siblings could.

Katara tried to be that for Suki, and Suki tried to be that for Katara. Suki never re-married and she ended up passing away at the young age of forty. She had been killed in battle against another gang of warriors that were trying to rise up and take Kyoshi for themselves.

Death was everywhere. At all times. She wanted nothing more to finally escape herself.

Katara suddenly felt very tired.

Maybe this was her chance.

Maybe this was her escape.

Katara clutched the photo to her chest. If she died with it in her pocket then someone would find it regardless and she refused to hide it.

Katara slowly removed her parka to reveal her bindings.

Her body no longer looked like it used to and she laughed at the sight of her saggy and wrinkled flesh. Getting old was one of the most terrifying life experiences.

No matter what you did your skin would pucker, then crack, and then wrinkle until you resembled a prune.

Your body would be sore, then ache, and then be so stiff you could no longer walk without shuffling.

Your hair always turned the whitish gray and thinned.

You lost weight and your bones began to show through said wrinkled skin and your eyesight diminished and your eyes would get "smaller" as you face caved in on itself.

Your parents died, your children moved out, and then your spouse died, and then you were all alone when for about 60 years you were NEVER alone.

You had no more friends, no more family who wasn't busy, and life felt empty.

Katara thought all these things as she lied in bed.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she gasped gently.

He was right beside her.

He smiled that perfect smile at her, those same honey eyes glimmering.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered and Katara scoffed, observing his buff and muscular body.

"I'm old." She retorted.

Zuko shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Katara felt heat rise up into her face.

Even at her old age, sweet words from a young handsome man could embarrass her.

Aang had been so busy being the ruler of the United Nations that he was always gone or with Tenzin, forcing him to continue on his legacy, so glad that he had a son that was an air bender so that he was no longer "The Last Air Bender"

Zuko stroked her wrinkled cheek with his thumb.

"I've been waiting. Come with me." He stated.

It was not a question.

He knew Katara and he knew what she would say.

"Yes." She whispered as a smile lit up her features.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again… everything was white.

She blinked a few more times until she realized that he was standing in front of her.

Katara looked down at herself.

Her body was back! She was young again!

Katara ran her hands through her chocolate hair-

Oh Agni! It was long and thick again..

Katara placed her hands in front of her eyes.

The skin on them was not wrinkled in the slightest.

She looked up to find Zuko smiling at her, his bangs to the side and his hair that beautiful and shaggy obsidian.

"I missed you." She said quietly as tears dripped down her face.

He shook his head at her and stepped forward before wiping the salty tears from her eyes.

"I never left." He confessed before placing his full and soft lips to hers.

It was quick and brief yet perfect and the memories rushed through Katara in an instant.

"I love you." He confessed, that boyish grin still stretched across his simply perfect face.

"And I love you." Katara repeated, just like they had all those years ago.

He took a step back from her and offered her his large and rough hand.

She was the most beautiful thing in the World to him.

She placed her strong and petite hand in his and together they walked into paradise.

…

It was Korra who found her the next morning.

She had come to question her about a healing technique but she did not answer her when she knocked on the door.

Korra brazenly walked into her water bending trainer's home and found her cold and still in her bed.

A picture of her and the Fire Nation prince that she had read about in school was clutched to her chest.

A voice in Korra's head screamed and Korra had clutched her head in pain.

She knew that Avatar Aang had seen what she had. He had been connected to Katara on a spiritual level.

The pain in Korra's head grew and she went outside to alert the Water Tribe.

But she tried to communicate with Aang that Katara had had a smile on her face.

Wherever she was, she was happy.

A/N: Oh my gosh gah! GAH! I can't stop crying. I'm even hating myself right now. -_- I'll post the alternate ending and THAT epilogue as soon as I can! Please forgive me, I'm going to be busy here for a while! Love ya'll! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! MWAH! *blows kisses*


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